Remove Video Metadata and Location

Save a copy of a video without its location, device and date tags, copied without re-encoding and without uploading the file.

Choose a video

or drop it here

The video is processed on this device and never uploaded.

MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, 3GP, TS / MTS / M2TS or VOB / MPG

Files over 1 GB can be slow. Very large outputs need a browser that can save straight to a file.

How it works

When you choose a video, the page reads its container tags and track list in your browser and lists anything that can identify you or the device: GPS location, camera make and model, creation date, software, author, title, comments and track names. Values are shown on this screen only; they are not logged or sent anywhere.

Remove metadata writes a new file in the same container (MP4 stays MP4, MOV stays MOV). It is a remux: the video and audio streams are copied packet by packet, without re-encoding, and the tags are left out. Timed metadata and data tracks the scan finds are dropped. The copy is named video-clean.mp4 (or .mov), because the original file name can identify you too.

The tool then reads the copy back and compares it with the original: what was removed, anything still present (shown as a warning), and what this check does not look at.

Strip the tags before you send the file. A direct transfer such as SpectrShare, another site I built, sends the file exactly as it is, location tags included. Once the clean copy is ready, it can send it straight from your browser to the recipient's, with no upload and an optional password.

Supported files

Inputs: MP4 and MOV (including iPhone and Android recordings) are the verified containers. WebM and MKV are inspected and can be cleaned, without the same verification. Other files can be inspected if the browser can read them.
Outputs: A copy in the same container as the input, named video-clean.mp4, video-clean.mov, .webm or .mkv.

Limitations

GPS and other details can also sit in timed metadata tracks and other places in the container. The tool drops the data tracks it detects and removes the tags it can read, but it cannot promise that every byte is gone. If it matters, verify the copy with ExifTool.
Some cameras and encoders write information inside the video or audio stream itself. Sony, Panasonic, Canon and JVC camcorders can record the date and GPS position in every frame of the H.264 stream (ExifTool shows it with -ee2), and x264 leaves its settings string. The streams are copied unchanged, so that data stays. It is not in the tag lists and this check does not read it; re-encoding the video is the only way to remove it.
The clean copy identifies the tool that wrote it: the track handlers and encoder name read "Mediabunny" with its version (with the FFmpeg fallback, the default handler names). It does not identify you.
Removal is all or nothing: you cannot keep some tags (for example the title) and remove others.
Subtitle tracks are dropped along with data tracks.
The movie and track headers have their own creation time. With the browser engine (Mediabunny) it is set to the time you made the copy; with the FFmpeg fallback it is zero (1904). This check does not read those headers. The FFmpeg fallback also resets the track language labels.

Questions

Does removing metadata reduce quality?

No. The video and audio are copied without re-encoding, so the encoded picture and sound are unchanged. Only the tags and extra tracks are left out.

Will my iPhone video still play the right way up?

Yes. Rotation is stored separately from the tags and is kept, and the report re-checks it in the copy.

Is the location really gone?

The tool removes the location tags it finds and drops detected timed metadata tracks, then re-reads the copy. If anything identifying is still detected you get a warning instead of a success. For certainty, check the copy with ExifTool.

Which tags does it remove?

Every container tag it can read, including GPS location, camera make and model, creation date, software, author, title, comments and track names, plus subtitle, chapter, timecode and timed-metadata tracks, cover images and attachments. Removal is all or nothing, and the page lists each tag before and after.

Is my video uploaded?

No. The file is read and written by your browser on your device. See Privacy and how it works.

Example

A MOV clip carrying QuickTime tags for location (com.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709), make, model, software and creation date, plus a title. The report lists them under Location, Device make and model, Creation date, Software and Title. After Remove metadata, the re-read of video-clean.mov lists all of them as removed and none as still present; the video and audio are copied, and the rotation is unchanged.